CMOs are responsible for driving growth, as revealed by a survey of 68% of marketing leaders by the CMO Council and Deloitte in 2016. However, many marketers are stuck in a functional rut, focusing on campaigns and moments in time, rather than driving strategic initiatives. Many CMOs believe that crafting the customer experience is the path to corporate differentiation, with 44% believing that their brands have already been differentiated and 37% saying that experience only somewhat creates differentiation. The role of the CMO as champion of the experience for the entire organization is not widely recognized, with many marketers managing from afar, focusing on how customers initiate their journeys and progress from search to discovery and consideration. The initial 2016 investigation into growth focused on short-term activities that could amplify sales and spark immediate revenue gains, with strategy often more focused on the long term as marketers looked to shift corporate culture from a product-centric to a customer-centric approach.
